This year I had the privilege to sit down with a fellow peer of mine who is passionate about educating others on invisible identities. Before coming to college, many of us have never given thought to invisible identities; some of us may continue to overlook them.
What exactly are invisible identities? An invisible identity is something that people wouldn’t know about you just by looking at you. Invisible identities include one’s, socioeconomic class, religion, gender, sexuality, and disabilities.
Educating yourself on invisible identities is extremely important, especially in order to make connections with those around you. When talking to a peer of mine, I learned that she self-identifies as hard-hearing and queer. Though she is open about her identities now, that hasn’t always been the case. An unfortunate experience earlier in life caused her to conceal who she knew she was for a long time. One day, a friend of hers was talking about a GSI who wore hearing aids. This friend expressed immense pity, causing my peer to worry that if she was open about her own identities, she would receive the same pity.
I asked her how she thought others could be more courteous and thoughtful towards invisible identities. Some advice of hers includes: don’t assume that someone you know doesn’t have an invisible identity, and choose your words carefully – even “small” comments like “OMG! You can’t hear anything, why don’t you get hearing aids!” are beyond hurtful. Be mindful of your language, especially when joking around, because we have all heard enough wrongful, triggering jokes regarding sexuality, disability, gender, and identity.
Most importantly, inform yourself about invisible identities by asking someone about their experiences, or thinking about identities you may have yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of someone being judged and disrespected for their identity. It isn’t fun, so let’s not do it.
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